A variety of harness systems have been designed for keeping a covering on a dog's legs. One such system is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,633,817 (also shown in No. 4,744,333). Buckles are secured to the outside edges of socks on the dog's feet, and a suspender arrangement utilizing elastic ribbons threaded into the buckles is placed over the dog's shoulders and hindquarters. Design patents Nos. Des. 375,586 and Des. 376,448 disclose similar arrangements. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,341,765 a dog is shown wearing leg holsters with their outside edges fastened to an elongated back strap. There is also a chest strap fastened to the back strap which is passed below the animal. Similar sleeves and supporting members are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,240,882; 5,076,043; and 3,791,383, as well as United States Application No. 2008/0022945.
Paw coverings for a cat are illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,676,095 and United States Application No. 2008/0173258. A body jacket designed to restrict loose animal hair is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,481,383 with strategically placed snaps along the outside edges for joining leg coverings to the jacket. United States Application No. 2007/0163520 illustrates a diaper held onto a dog's hindquarters. A horizontal strap passing around the dog's chest is fastened to the diaper with a VELCRO® strip of material.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,791,383 recognizes the tendency of animals whose limbs have been wounded to gnaw, chew or otherwise get at the injury, and the patent emphasizes a need to prevent such animals from reaching the injury. The patents noted above illustrate various ways of holding sleeves on injured animal limbs for therapeutic purposes. And an elbow pad provided with extra padding, or a pocket for holding ice, is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,479,457.
Thus, several inventors have sought to solve the problem of preventing a dog (or a cat or other four legged pet) from displacing leg coverings, especially when the coverings are needed for therapeutic purposes.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a leg covering assembly which connects a protective sleeve with a harness on a dog's body at a point high on the dog's body and around the dog's injured limb so that the animal cannot dislodge it.
It is a further object of this invention to connect the top of a protective sleeve member to a harness close to the junction of the dog's limb and trunk, and maintain it there.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a means for connecting and holding a protective sleeve on a dog's leg in place and concomitantly allow the sleeve to be easily placed over the leg and adjusted to a secure and comfortable place on the animal.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a connection member for attaching a protective sleeve over a dog's leg which can be easily moved to a desired position prior to having the sleeve engaged.
These and other objects of the invention will become apparent after reading the description of the invention which follows.